Karnataka setting up 1200 MW power plant in Chhattisgarh

            Raipur, September 8, 2008: What is loss for Congress government in Delhi is a gain for BJP regime of Karnataka as the Chhattisgarh government today inked an agreement with the southern state to set up a Rs 6000 crore power plant here.

            “Today is an important day, it begins a major milestone in the inter-state cooperation for development in India,” Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told an MoU signing ceremony here adding “I am extremely grateful to my brother Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh for favourably responding to my letter and for having agreed to help us in setting up a pit head thermal power station in Chhattisgarh”.

            More than half of the employees of the Karnataka government’s power plant would be recruited from Chhattisgarh state, Yeddyurappa said.

            Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh said Karnataka gained where the local government of Delhi failed to take advantage. In fact, an area was reserved for Delhi to set up a power plant here but Delhi backed out and that place was passed on to Karnataka today, he added.

            Setting up a power plant here in Chhattisgarh would give a huge benefit to Karnataka as it would reduce by 40 per cent in the cost of production, Singh said.

            Chhattisgarh had also sought cooperation of Karnataka in the field of medical education, bio-technology and information technology.

            Principal Secretary-Energy Vivek Dhand gave an impressive presentation about Chhattisgarh and its achievement in last five years. But more interesting was, starting from Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and Home Minister V S Acharya to their Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao, all were seen noting down his points.

            Since the BJP government in Karnataka was completing 100 days tomorrow, to celebrate the 99^th day’s achievement, Yeddyurappa had brought in also a large number of journalists from Bangaluru and Delhi to witness the moment.